Affordable housing freeze locks out needy

The sage green and beige apartments were supposed to open in Sun Valley this year, providing affordable and supportive housing to needy, disabled renters.

But the 60-unit Glenoaks Gardens complex has been put on hold, along with hundreds of other affordable housing projects across California, all victims of the state budget crisis. With California delaying payments on voter-approved bonds, developers have been unable to get the bridge loans from commercial lenders they need to build the projects.

"We had expected to break ground in fall 2009," said Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president and CEO of Los Angeles Family Housing of North Hollywood, developer of Glenoaks Gardens. "(But) it's been delayed as we work out scenarios to resolve the state's financial crisis.

"This will put another of our projects behind schedule."

Proposition 46, passed in 2002, and its successor, Proposition1C, were supposed to provide $5 billion in bond funds to support affordable housing or shelters for needy residents.

But in December 2008, with the state in the throes of a budget crisis, the board responsible for doling out bond money suspended cash awards to recipients, according to officials and affordable housing advocates.

Since then, more than $1.3billion in bond fund payments have been delayed or frozen, according to state housing officials, holding up more than 400 affordable housing projects.

At least half of those developments are in Southern California.

"There are probably thousands of people around the state who cannot afford market-rate housing who are left out in the cold," said Paul Zimmerman, executive director of the Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing, based in Los Angeles. "This has created a crisis in our ability to build affordable housing."

The move halted construction of 50,000 affordable rental homes and units in nearly 800 developments across the state, with more than 93,000 jobs lost in construction, according to the association.

They would have added to the 35,000 affordable rental apartments now in Los Angeles County, Zimmerman said.

State housing officials said they hope bond sales can resume this spring.

"As we continue to do more bond sales, we can free up more cash for affordable housing," said Chris Westlake, deputy director of the state Housing and Community Development Department. "Our hope is we get a substantial amount of money to fund our prior commitments, fund new projects, spur job creation and provide safe, affordable housing."

L.A. Family Housing - one of the largest builders of affordable housing in the San Fernando Valley, with 265 units rented to low-income tenants - saw a need for a unique complex built for mostly special-needs residents.

So it bought a former do-it-yourself car wash at 8925 Glenoaks Blvd., and drew up plans for 60 studio apartments accompanied by a community room, job center, computer lab and mental health and counseling offices. Rents were to range from $380 to $645 per month.

The Glenoaks Gardens project was to cost $20 million, with $6million in state bond-funded loans paid after construction of the project. To bridge the gap, a bank was to supply a short-term construction loan.

But banks were unwilling to loan the money because of the state's dubious position, Klasky-Gamer said, so L.A. Family Housing is juggling other potential funding sources to complete its supportive housing project for the disabled.

Advocates for the disabled said the delay couldn't have come at a worse time. They say older apartments simply aren't available to people with physical or mental disabilities.

"It's almost beyond comprehension how people with special needs are able to live in Southern California. The cost of housing is so high," said Steve Miller, executive director of the Tierra del Sol Foundation, a Sunland-based nonprofit that provides jobs and support for the disabled.